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Copernicus decided this with more of an educated guess than anything. For example is when your standing right next to a plane it's huge Right? Well when it's flying it looks really small. He used the same reasoning for stars. Since it looks small it must be farther away.

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How did Copernicus explain the retrograde motions of the planets?

All the models explain retrograde motion because it is such an obvious phenomenon. In Copernicus's model an outer planet goes into retrograde motion when the inner planet overtakes it so that it appears from the inner planet to be going backwards along the ecliptic.


How was Copernicus' idea of planet movement different from ptolemy's?

Copernicus proposed a heliocentric model, where planets revolve around the sun, while Ptolemy's geocentric model placed Earth at the center of the universe with planets orbiting around it. Copernicus' model helped to explain retrograde motion more simply than Ptolemy's epicycles.


What are the similarities beween Copernicus' model of the universe and Ptolemy's model of the universe?

Both Copernicus' and Ptolemy's models aimed to explain the motion of celestial bodies in the sky. However, Copernicus placed the Sun at the center of the universe, while Ptolemy's model had Earth at the center. Both models used the concept of epicycles to explain the retrograde motion of planets.


What did Nicolaus Copernicus think your solar system was?

Nicolaus Copernicus proposed that the Sun, not the Earth, was the center of the solar system and that the planets, including Earth, revolved around the Sun in circular orbits. This heliocentric model challenged the prevailing geocentric view of the time.


Why is Copernicus' model much simpler than Ptolemy's?

Copernicus' model is simpler than Ptolemy's because it places the sun at the center of the solar system, with planets orbiting around it in nearly circular paths. This heliocentric model eliminates the need for complex epicycles, which Ptolemy used in his geocentric model to explain the retrograde motion of planets. Copernicus's model also provides a more elegant explanation for the observed movements of celestial bodies.

Related Questions

Why did Copernicus think that stars are farther from earth than the planets are?

He knew that the planets revolved around the sun in an elliptical orbit.


How did Copernicus explain the retrograde motions of the planets?

All the models explain retrograde motion because it is such an obvious phenomenon. In Copernicus's model an outer planet goes into retrograde motion when the inner planet overtakes it so that it appears from the inner planet to be going backwards along the ecliptic.


How was Copernicus' idea of planet movement different from ptolemy's?

Copernicus proposed a heliocentric model, where planets revolve around the sun, while Ptolemy's geocentric model placed Earth at the center of the universe with planets orbiting around it. Copernicus' model helped to explain retrograde motion more simply than Ptolemy's epicycles.


Who created a model of the solar system with planets orbiting the sun?

Nicolaus Copernicus.


What are the similarities beween Copernicus' model of the universe and Ptolemy's model of the universe?

Both Copernicus' and Ptolemy's models aimed to explain the motion of celestial bodies in the sky. However, Copernicus placed the Sun at the center of the universe, while Ptolemy's model had Earth at the center. Both models used the concept of epicycles to explain the retrograde motion of planets.


What did Nicolaus Copernicus think your solar system was?

Nicolaus Copernicus proposed that the Sun, not the Earth, was the center of the solar system and that the planets, including Earth, revolved around the Sun in circular orbits. This heliocentric model challenged the prevailing geocentric view of the time.


Who discovered that the planets move around the sun?

Copernicus


Who made the theory that the planets orbit the sun?

Copernicus.


In the 1500s who developed a heliocentric explanation for the motion of the planets?

It was Copernicus.


What did Kepler and Copernicus not find out?

Why the planets stayed int their orbit.


When did Copernicus contribute to astronomy?

His theory of the planets came out in 1543.


Who discovered the planets evolve around the sun?

Nicolas Copernicus